Queensland Spotted Gum Hardwood Floor, Poly Gloss Finsih

I wish I was writing this post under different circumstances. We must have done something to insult the universe because we are being seriously punished at the moment. I will write a longer post next regarding this but it is with utter dismay and with the heaviest of hearts that I say that our stunning Spotted Gum flooring has been destroyed. It has all happened in the last 2 days and we are still in the process of going through it all but a brand new, yet defective dishwasher has slowly leaked water under our flooring for the past 2 weeks (unbeknownst to us). It has completely destroyed the floor, which will all need to be ripped up. It flooded through 2 rooms into the study and saturated the carpet there. Fischer and Paykel had their head guy come out and they found a broken pipe inside. We are completely devastated and its going to be a long journey to get back to where we are now. Our painter just finished filling and painting the skirting boards last week and we were finally ready to set all our furniture out. Instead we will soon need to begin packing again. 

Here is the flooring prior to this week (we only had 1 week of them). It turned out better than we had imagined and we could not have been happier with the final result. It was stunning.

Harwood timber flooring - QLD Spotted Gum 80 x 14mm select/standard mix
We deleted flooring in our Carlisle contract (to entry, hall, meals, kitchen and lounge) and then had our own company install the floors.

Flooring Timeline

• 31st October - Handover - got keys
• 3rd November - Flooring laid - took 1 week to lay
• We moved into the house (partly) on 7th November - floors were not sanded or polished
• Flooring then sat to allow them to acclimatise to the temperature and ensure minimal movement (as they came from Queensland) - nearly 2 weeks
• 19th November - we moved out and floors were sanded and polished. After polishing we couldn't move back for an extra 3 days to allow time for it to dry and set (also highly toxic)
• We moved back into the house on the 24th November
• (See now why I haven't had many posts!!!)
• We have been in the house just over 2 weeks....

Flooring Process

• Concrete scraped and cleaned
• Protective plastic laid
• 12mm layer of ply - screwed to the slab (what appeared to be 1000 screws!)
• QLD Spotted Gum timber glued and secret nailed
• Sanded and polished with 3 coats of solvent poly gloss finish

Protective Plastic Goes Down

 

Ply is Laid

 

 

 

Timber Gets Delivered!! It was soooo exciting seeing the timber. It gave us a good idea of the colour and what the end result would look like (this photo is in the garage under fluorescent lights).We were so excited by the colour variation and the feature to the timber. Timber really is an absolutely beautiful product.

 

More Natural Light

 

Here we Go!!! Goose bumps when we saw the first parts down!

 

The Next Night

So much completed in a day! These photos are under light at night time

 

While the floorers laid the floors during the night. I went back to the house at night and painted all the skirting boards! Enamel paint fumes in a garage send you a little crazy after a while!!

*Because our flooring was laid after hand-over and did not want quad on the floor under any circumstances, we had Carlisle leave the skirting boards off to all of the ground floor. They left us all the skirting boards in the packets and the paint to paint them. It was a bit painful at the time to try and get them done but the end result was worth it all. To avoid quad around the kitchen the floorer used caulking. Its a timber matched silicone that fills in the small gap needed to allow for movement.

 

Finished laying in the kitchen and lounge

*This is not yet sanded or polished

 

Close Up

It has those beautiful browns, reds, and ash colours

 

More Photos - not yet sanded or polished

 

Variation of Colour is Amazing!!

 

 

 

HERE IT IS - QLD SPOTTED GUM WITH POLY GLOSS: FINISHED!!!

Looking down the hall

 

So happy with the colour match of the timber staircase; Walnut

 

 

Entry to Study and Theatre carpets - Cat3 Takarra Ridge

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overview of PCI

Sorry for the delayed post from our PCI, we move out of our rental house this week and we've been busy moving and packing - fun times!!

We had our PCI - New Home Inspection- on Friday. I was so nervous about it to be honest. We are just hoping that we picked up all the important things and haven't missed something non-cosmetic. Noting and marking up paint touch ups was one of the biggest aspects. I think our SS almost used a whole roll of tape! There were blue marks covering effectively all walls. 'We really don't need that footprint on the roof cornice, or that spray of mud on that wall!'. Our SS was great at marking out these - they are obviously easy to fix up as well. He was a little more reserved on others and we could definitely feel his tension at times - some things that may have an impact or reflection on his work and possibly his 'bonus' if there is such a thing.

Our next walk through and handover/settlement is booked (tentatively) for October 30th - 2 weeks from now!!!! He thinks this date should be enough time to get everything done. 

There was some unfinished work (due to weather - outside tiles - and other things yet to be finished) so we will need to check over those as-well, but here is our list of the Completion of Works Certificate (the 1001 internal paint work is not included in this!)

• seal spa bath
• adjust centre draw in ensuite (stiff and tight)
• adjust WIR drawers (all stiff - one didn't close)
• scuff marks to ensuite tile (praying these come out of the porcelain)
• re-coat to front of stairs (going to be very particualar with these as the paint is very scrappy)
• dint in laminate in laundry (they replaced the side panel - not the top...)
• paint the chipboard under the island bench white (this is red and when the sun comes in makes the back look pinkish)
• handle to overhead cupboard in kitchen
• refit beading to kitchen window
• check colour and shelf height to pantry in butlers
• chip to balcony tile
• caulk to balcony edge
• light switch in power room
• door handle to WIR bed 4
• trim and seal to bathroom shower/bath
• Hog Bristle Half render to side of porch (wrong colour)
• rubber to ensuite window
• infill to side of bathroom window
• dent to theatre window
• compression flashing to roof x3
• woodland grey to bathroom window infill
• re-coat alfresco beam
• re-coat garage door
• flashing to alfresco pier
• seal to garage door
• infill to bedroom 3
• infill to bedroom 4 highlight
• steam clean carpets
• seals to front door
• add door jam to linen
• paint and add privacy lock to upstairs powder
• caulking underside of island bench
• There are way too many scratches to the window frames and glass to list. This has always been a big thing for us and the way the doors were initially treated. There are scratches to almost all frames and panels. This is where our site supervisors attitude seemed to become more subdued. He couldn't believe how damaged they were, even though we have made this clear from the get go. The scratches on the glass were also a really big one. They are everywhere and the more we looked, the more we all found. He basically said that all windows will be thoroughly checked over and either repaired, buffed out or replaced. This has to affect his budget. For example 4 (out of 6) panels of the large double glazed were seriously scratched. It's been heartbreaking for us now I thinks it's heartbreaking for him too. They will all be fixed though

We were really happy with how everything went! The majority of things picked up were things our SS told us about or have always been on the list to do. The countdown is now well and truly on now!!! Another exciting thing is that handover will happen at the house and we won't have to drive over 2 hours to collect the keys from Carlisle's Head office in Mulgrave!! 

A  Few Pictures

Powder Room Light Needs Tightening 

Incorrect Render Colour - The part setback next to the garage should be Hog Bristle Half - not BedBox

A Few Paint Touch-ups!

A Few More!!

Our SS wasn't overly happy with this one. There are two issues here for us

1) the bottom shelf that was recently added (had been left off the first time but is on drawings) is clearly a different colour. He told us black and blue that he thought it was the same colour as the other shelves....

2) It has been built way too high and has made the bottom shelf really small

I know it's not a huge issue but to me it just all looks wrong. He said he will have to check on this one..

Keep you updated!

Quad has been added to roof line (still to be painted)

A little gutted to see scratch marks to the newly installed fire place trim (the photo doesn't really show it). Our SS told us there was a note left on the fire from the installers to say that they have ordered a new one as it was delivered with these scratches. Phew!

Missing Handle for Overhead Kitchen Cupboard

 Trim to Shower

New Home Presentation Booked (PCI)

At the end of last week our SS called us to book in our 'New Home Presentation'. We think in building terms this is often called the PCI - or Post Construction Inspection or Practical Completion Inspection. None of these things are in our contract but are always thrown about on forums etc. (I actually had to google it!). It's all booked for this Friday (17th October). We had some big discussions prior to this date being booked with our SS, as well as in the phone call to book it in, as we wanted to make it crystal clear that we wanted all the jobs done that we have previously bought up as well as other major works still yet to be done before we did the inspection. We emailed him a list and basically said that if it wasn't all done then we weren't interested in meeting. He has assured us that it will all be done by Friday and the trades have all been booked for it. We are still a little skeptical! One of the major things that still needs to be finished is the render and the tiles to the facade pier. The weather is horrid all week and we are finding it very difficult to see it being done. Our SS said the tiler will be finished by Tuesday (tomorrow). He must be a miracle worker as he hasn't started on it yet...... Anyway, the minute we agreed to Friday, we had emails and letters of confirmation of the 'New Home Presentation! (as well as the next bill!!)'. I know this is a walk-through is to pick out all the things that we want to pick up on, but I don't see a point doing it till everything is done, otherwise it all has to be done again anyway - checking over the things previously not done. So we have our fingers crossed that everything from our end is done in the next 4 days.....

We haven't had our own inspections 'officially' done throughout the build but we have had friends who have been 'helping' us along the way!! They are builders and have been able to give us invaluable advice. We have also come across the inspections notices throughout the build - some emailed, some found on benches/in drawers! So we asked our friends if they could help us through the final leg and go through things with a fine tooth comb over the weekend. Everything is looking great and most things are cosmetic but it's nice to feel like we have a handle of all the things we want to talk about on Friday. 

Here are some of the things we want to see done by Friday and others that will no doubt be bought up as in-completed works or defects (if they not done by Friday);

Outside

• Missing quad around top of gable inside and out - as well as under eaves of facade plus over garage 
• Infills to windows
• Compression flashing on roof x3
• Chip on tile balcony 
• ?underpinning garage (slab)
• Painted infill woodland - bathroom window
• Infill bedroom 4-side small gap ?
• Gap under facade window 
• Front door not shutting properly 
• Missing hinge on front door x2 
• Inside door jamb stain 
• Stain on glass doors
• Outside alfresco beam - paint again
• Very crooked quad to alfresco poles 
• Brick gaps (alfresco)
• Brush strip reversed on meals alfresco - doors 
• Dripping outside tap 
• Loose laundry door frame
• Second coat Hog Bristle - door and weatherboards 
• Garage door pulled back higher when opened
• Ensuite window seal - damage
• Window scratches - some small and some large
• Frame scratches (this is HUGE) - basically on all frames and most are massive scratches or gouges 

Inside
Master

• Hinge on bedroom door (master)- missing 
• Missing all door catch plates 
• Behind doors on master - cracks - power points 
• Skirt on master hob 
• 1st tower drawer - bottom drawer not shutting 
• Paint on doors messy 

Stairs 

• Crooked stair light 
• Crooked banister 
• Paint - messy 

Laundry 

• Chip on bench 
• Walk in linen - door jamb missing

Powder

• Lift off hinges to powder door

Kitchen

• Kitchen top drawer - not shutting properly 
• Paint red chipboard under bench (reflecting under island bench)
• Sealer on splash back 
• Stain on right of island (the painters had the stair railing drying on it - help me!!!)
• Rubber seal - window 
• Gaps down sides of Island - under bench
• Lift up cupboards - paint/fix gap 
• Pantry bottom shelf colour 
• Tap pressure in kitchen

Other

• Adjust door handles (some)
• Stair expansion join - 2 x bumps 
• Silicon around bath and tiles 
• Chipped arc in activity 
• Chip on garage internal door 
• Roof clean ? 
• Privacy locks - double check
• Paint left for skirts 
• Check near all power points 
• Skirt to garage wall x 1
• Tile step garage 

This list makes us look a little crazy! It actually doesn't include quite a few large things that just should be obvious that we will talk about - e.g. finished render etc. We are pretty particular with things but we are not over the top. We just want it done right and we expect to get what we pay for. We are really happy with Carlisle and have no doubt it will all get there... eventually..!!

E.g. having the door like this on the upstairs powder-room just isn't acceptable......

Yes, this door is shut completely..... Slight issue of privacy!!

How the door installers, plumbers and painters and anyone else who has entered this room has not seen this by now is beyond me!